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DHistory
History · Terrytown

Half of Terrytown’s homes were built after 1976

More historic than 9% of U.S. towns · #140 of 161 in Louisiana. What drives it

Most of Terrytown was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1976. Below: maps from 1891 on and the census since 1970.

0on the National Register
2%homes built before 1940
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Photo: Infrogmation of New Orleans · CC BY 2.0
Quick answers

About Terrytown’s history

How historic is Terrytown?

D

More historic than 9% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
History grade

What drives Terrytown’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Terrytown is more historic than 9% of U.S. towns, #140 of 161 in Louisiana. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

D
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Terrytown’s overall grade.
Founding eraNo founding year we can rely on, so the grade uses the other two–Homes built before 19401.5% of homes (±1.4) · typical LA town 3.4% · U.S. 8.4%C−National RegisterNo listings counted · typical LA town 3.8 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 9%
NewerOlder
Louisiana towns of 2,500+ (161)Ahead of 13%

Louisiana towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Louisiana town has 3.8 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Terrytown’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (21% of Louisiana towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share (±1.4 points) is firm at this size.

Founding year: our sources. Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Terrytown’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Terrytown are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18917 editions of the USGS map, 1891 to 1992. Watch Terrytown change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Terrytown’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Terrytown’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Terrytown on the map, 1891 to 1992

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Terrytown. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Terrytown on the 1891 USGS mapTerrytown on the 1932 USGS mapTerrytown on the 1951 USGS mapTerrytown on the 1966 USGS mapTerrytown on the 1972 USGS mapTerrytown on the 1989 USGS mapTerrytown on the 1992 USGS map1891New Orleans sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Terrytown.

The story so far

Terrytown, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Terrytown yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Terrytown is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, United States. It is on the "Westbank" (to the south) of the Mississippi River. It is a suburb within the New Orleans–Metairie–Kenner metropolitan statistical area. The population was 23,319 at the 2010 census, and 25,278 in 2020. Terrytown was opened to a media tour on March 5, 1960, showcasing the newest of concepts in home construction at the time, with the original homes having all plumbing in one wall. The community was opened to the public and considered founded on March 6, 1960, by subdivision developer Paul Kapelow, who named the town after his first daughter, Terry Kapelow. Te…

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 23,319 to 25,278 (+8%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

By decade

Terrytown, decade by decade

Today12 recent
Terrytown Yard Rain Water July 20172017Terrytown Yard Rain Water July 2017Terrytown Louisiana October 2016 032016Terrytown Louisiana October 2016 03Terrytown Louisiana October 2016 022016Terrytown Louisiana October 2016 02Terrytown LA Deluge July 2016 032016Terrytown LA Deluge July 2016 03Terrytown LA Deluge July 2016 022016Terrytown LA Deluge July 2016 02Terrytown LA Deluge July 2016 012016Terrytown LA Deluge July 2016 01Terrytown LA Rain 28Mch20142014Terrytown LA Rain 28Mch2014Terrytown LA Hydrant 22014Terrytown LA Hydrant 2Terrytown LA Hydrant 12014Terrytown LA Hydrant 1US Navy 090613-N-9968P-015 Builder 1st Class Dwayne Brown marks the placement of wood slats on a piece of playground eq…2009US Navy 090613-N-9968P-015 Builder 1st Class Dwayne B…Terrtytown7Jan2008BirdCanal2008Terrtytown7Jan2008BirdCanalTerrytownKiddieTrainNov062006TerrytownKiddieTrainNov06
People over time

Terrytown, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,000198020002020Peak: 25,430

Between 13,832 and 25,430 people in every census since 1970.

6 censuses, 1970–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Terrytown’s Wikipedia page.

Places that used to be

Places now gone and burying grounds

Gone or out of use
Plantation Golf Courselocale
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Terrytown
Westlawn MemorialWestlawn South

Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

New Orleans192 historic placesA+Gretna6 historic placesABelle ChasseIts storyD−TimberlaneIts storyD−

Questions about Terrytown’s history

How does Terrytown rank for history?

Terrytown is more historic than 9% of U.S. towns, #140 of 161 in Louisiana. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

How old are the homes in Terrytown?

2% of Terrytown’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.4 points), against a typical 3.4% for a Louisiana town; the median home was built in 1976.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

From Wikimedia Commons (12), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.